Chris Carter and 1013 Productions own the X-Files. JK Rowling, Warner Brothers and Scholastic own Harry Potter. All I own is this story line, every Harry Potter DVD and a complete collection of X-Files DVD's. I wish I owned Fox Mulder.

A/N This story is set anytime during Sorcerers Stone through Prisoner of Azkaban of HP (although it contains information in all the books) and after X-Files episode "Emily", but before "Requiem".

A TURRET

HOGWARTS

In the middle of the week, Scully and Snape were up in the turret, enjoying their lunch in the fresh air on another unseasonably sunny and warm day. Scully had come to look forward to this one meal a day where she wasn't on display for the whole school. She was in a quiet mood and she took off her blazer so she could hang it over the edge and have something soft to lean on. After she settled in, she looked across at the view and said, "I'll say this much, I'll never forget how beautiful this place is. Looking out over the countryside, on a day like this, it's hard to believe anything evil could have occurred here."

"I'm sure you've worked in law enforcement long enough to know not to let looks deceive you, agent Scully. Just because you're seeing something that looks pleasant, don't believe it is. There's a lot you don't know about the war we waged to drive out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You don't realize the terrible amount of havoc he wrought over a decade ago. Many people died, there was destruction everywhere. He collected many followers." Snape looked directly in her face. "I was one of them. A Death Eater."

She raised her eyebrow and nodded slowly, not looking away. "I see. And how is it you're here as a teacher?" She spoke calmly and it was impossible to sense her emotion.

Snape broke off eye contact first and fixed his gaze on the stone wall opposite where they sat.

"It was due to Headmaster Dumbledore. He was able to...help me. It's been more than 10 years, but there's much I wish could be undone".

Scully sat, outwardly calm, breathing in and breathing out. Dumbledore had assigned a Death Eater to work with her. For what purpose? Because she had the necessary experience to deal with people with a criminal background? Mulder was the experienced Profiler and had worked in Violent Crimes. Wouldn't Mulder have been the most obvious choice?

Or was Dumbledore simply the type of person who enjoyed playing both ends against the middle, assigning people like pawns for a larger purpose. Scully knew such people from the Bureau. And yet...

Scully had already been made aware of the high esteem in which Dumbledore was held among his people. Parents trusted him enough to send their children to be taught under his supervision, and he ruled Hogwarts with a firm, but kind hand. If he trusted Professor Snape enough to allow him to work at Hogwarts, risking his own reputation, that was worthy of note. He was also broadminded enough to allow her and Mulder into Hogwarts, which was apparently unprecedented. And, the fact was, she couldn't help liking Dumbledore.

There was nothing she could say to Snape sitting next to her, nothing that seemed appropriate. After a few moments of silence between them, she looked down at her hands and mused, almost to herself, " Since joining the Bureau, I've seen a lot of evil--sometimes from forces I could never fully explain--sometimes it was merely man's inhumanity to man." She shuddered a little. "I also learned what it feels like to be completely afraid--what abject terror feels like. My life has been in danger many times, but I still keep coming back to work." She laughed a little then. "Sometimes I wonder why". She didn't know why she felt she needed to make that speech, but when she was finished, they sat quietly once more. The air seemed chillier, and Scully stood up and put on her blazer. She needed to stretch a little after sitting on the stone bench, and she walked over to the parapet opposite, and leaned her elbows on it, clasping her hands in front of her. She hadn't looked directly at Snape since she started talking. In a few minutes, she heard him stand up and walk across the tower until he was standing next to her. She felt the hem of his robe brush against her ankles, but he wasn't looking at her, either.

Snape said, "We'd better be heading back to class now." Scully nodded, and Snape stepped back to let her pass. As they were walking down the stairs, he asked quietly, "Would you prefer to work with someone else? Now that you know?"

Scully thought about Dumbledore who trusted him and Mulder who hadn't expressed any concerns about her working with him and answered, "No, I don't think that will be necessary."